


Strange New Place

by LoganExeHasStoppedWorking



Series: Newsies Lore Olympus AU [2]
Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic), Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Awkward Flirting, Banter, Drinking, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Mentioned Crutchie, One Shot, Talking, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Jack Kelly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27287221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoganExeHasStoppedWorking/pseuds/LoganExeHasStoppedWorking
Summary: Jack doesn't remember how he got here or what happened last night. All he knows is he has to get out of here.
Relationships: David Jacobs & Jack Kelly, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Morris Delancey/David Jacobs
Series: Newsies Lore Olympus AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972918
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Strange New Place

**Author's Note:**

> Ayyeee! Another Lore Olympus AU one-shot? I think so! This can be read as a stand alone, but if you want more context or to check out the pervious story, you can do that too!
> 
> Anyway, I crammed five chapters into this one story! Hope you enjoy!

Jack woke up with a start.

He sat up in bed and sucked in a breath through his teeth. His eyes darted around the dimly lit room. It was a room he didn’t recognize. A giant room at that. One bigger than he ever had. Jack would’ve thought it impressive if he knew where the hell he even was.

He threw the covers off and looked around. The room was covered in dark shades of blues and black. There was only a nightstand and bed in the room. The rest was empty, except for a door.

The young god ran a hand through his hair and brushed it from his face. He sighed in frustration when he noticed the length of his hair.

“Stupid hair,” he murmered. “Always gettin’ in the way.” 

He hated when this happened. Sure, his hair only grew when he was stressed or felt scared. And with so many things in his life changing lately, this was happening a lot more often. Usually, he tried to keep his hair short as much as possible. Both because it was much easier to manage and because he didn’t feel comfortable with the feminine look it gave him. 

_ I swear if whoever lives here took me ‘cause they thought I was a girl, they got another thing comin’... _

He stood up and adjusted himself. He flattened out his white button up and smoothed the wrinkles from his black pants. 

At least his clothes— minus his shoes— were still intact. He was thankful they didn’t see the bandages around his chest. If they did, who knows what kind of creeps lived in Olympus. 

He sighed. “Great. Just moved here, and I already woke up in a stranger’s bed.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t remember too much from the previous night. He knew he drank too much. That was about it. The only other thing that he could recall was a blonde god with a sort of rose color surrounding him. 

The god of spring walked over to the door and scanned the area. The halls were empty. Only dim lights and dark walls. Whoever lived here sure had a thing for the color black.

The eerie atmosphere sent a shiver down Jack’s spine. 

_ I don’t know who the fuck this house belongs to, but I don’t think I wanna stick around to find out.  _

Jack pulled his hair along and gathered it up in his arms. He quietly made his way down the halls, hoping he wouldn’t run into the person living here. 

He walked through a large corridor. 

Judging by the size of this place, he probably didn’t have too high of a chance of running into them. 

As he walked through the corridor, he noticed a giant window overlooking what looked to be a city. Bright lights illuminated the dark sky with a few billboards scattered here and there. 

Jack stared out in amazement. “Wow…” 

He had never seen a city like this. It was beautiful. Since he lived in the mortal realm where everything was still so rural and behind on advancement, sights like this never ceased to amaze him. He had something of a similar reaction when he first moved to Olympus. 

He would have to remember to paint this later. 

The god of spring shook his head and continued moving. He tried looking for an exit, but this place was massive. He went from room to room only to find something like a library or a room full of old antiques. 

It didn’t help that this place was freezing. His feet felt numb against the cold floor. He let go of his hair to let it drag behind him and hugged himself to stay warm. 

Jack sighed in frustration. “This is takin’ forever! Who needs a house like this!” He shook his head. “Damn rich people…” He opened the door and entered another room. “Oh my gods…”

He let out another frustrated sigh. “Who the actual fuck needs an indoor pool like this?! Pretentious rich assholes!”

He must’ve been a bit too loud because behind him, there was a low growl that sounded like some kind of guard dog. A really big one…

Jack slowly turned around. 

He was met with a gigantic dog that looked around the size of three, maybe fours trucks. The creature had pitch black fur with red eyes that illuminated in the dim light. It had three heads, each with a blue collar. 

It bared it’s sharp teeth and let out a bark that shook the room. 

Jack didn’t move. He stared at the creature with pure shock, unable to move any part of his body. 

“Uh-oh…”

  
  
  


-

  
  
  


The king of the underworld sighed. 

He hung his towel up and grabbed his grey button-up. 

He began getting dressed for work. The same thoughts bounced around in his mind. The thoughts that he had since the previous night, and they wouldn’t go away. 

_ I wonder if I should tell him what I said last night. He deserves to know what happened.  _

David grabbed the comb from his cabinet. He brushed the dark hair from his eyes. 

_ Then again, I wouldn’t want him knowing how I felt. _

He felt so bad. It was his fault the young god was in this position in the first place. He really shouldn’t have opened his big mouth. 

He heard barking in the distance. The god of the dead brushed his hair back and rolled his eyes. “Ugh, I wonder what Cerberus is on about now.”

He put the brush down and fixed himself up in the mirror. He grabbed his black jacket and buttoned it up. He reached for his tie but paused. It hit him. 

“Wait… _Oh_ _shit_!”

He ran out of his bathroom, tossing everything aside.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Cerberus no!”

David ran in the direction of the barking, but after a while, it began to slowly die down. His nerves shot up. He knew the young god was immortal, but that wasn’t going to stop his damn dog from  _ trying _ to kill his guest. Or at the very least, mildly injure him. Oh gods, he was going to be in so much trouble.

The god of the dead stopped when he saw the dog and noticed how it calmed down. It stared down at him. David looked up into the red eyes angrily. 

“Bad boy! What did you do with our house guest?”

“Youse talking ‘bout me?” 

David flinched at the voice. He watched as his dog lowered his head and let the shorter god hop off his back. He stared up at David with his hazel eyes. The pink aura surrounding him contrasted with the rest of the room. 

His breath caught in his throat. Oh gods, he was even cuter when he was awake. 

He spoke again. “I shoulda figured a house like this belongs to a king. You must have a lotta extra money for the shit you got ‘round here.”

David pointed from him to Cerberus. “But- how- what?”

“You get used to dealin’ with animals when you live outside your whole life. Plus, my roommate, Katherine, is kinda the goddess of hunting, so… she taught me a thing or two.”

David put his hands on his hips. “Wow. I’m impressed. Not just anyone can tame the gatekeeper of the underworld.”

Cerberus let out a yap and sat down next to the other god.

David pulled the cuffs of his jacket. “Heh… sorry about the not so warm welcome…”

“Jack. Call me Jack.”

“... Jack. Sorry, about him. He gets excited.” He turned to Cerberus. “And you! What have I told you about acting up? Outside! Now!”

Cerberus whimpered. He stood up and walked out. 

Jack watched him leave, then turned back to the taller god. “Hey, speakin’ of  _ warm _ welcomes, how the hell do you live down here? It’s freezing cold!”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Oh, I guess I’ve just adjusted to it after all these years of living down here.”

Jack smiled up at him. 

David felt heat rise to his face. He blinked as he watched Jack hug himself. 

“So, uh, you got a blanket or something I can borrow?” 

“Huh? Oh! Yes! Um, here.” He unbuttoned his jacket and handed it to the smaller god.

Jack took a step back. “What are you tryin’ to pull here, Blue Boy?”

“What? Nothing. I’m just… here. You’re cold.”

Jack looked from the jacket to David then back. “Thanks. I just… when you wake up in a stranger’s house, especially someone like me, you get kinda… ya know.”

David smiled. “Don’t worry about it. And you can just have this one. I have plenty more like it.”

Jack sniggered. “‘Course you do.” He reached out and grabbed it. 

Their hands brushed against each other gently. Jack’s hand was so much warmer and smaller compared to his. David had long, slender pale fingers that were as cold as death, but Jack… Jack’s were warm. They were smaller and softer than David imagined.

Jack put his jacket on. Considering the height difference, fit him so loose that it touched the floor. The sleeves went past Jack’s hands. 

_ How can someone be so attractive without even trying? _

Jack rolled up the sleeves. “There. How does it look?”

“You look… sufficient,” David stated. He cleared his throat, trying to push all kinds of thoughts he probably shouldn’t have been thinking out of his head. “Oh hey! Let’s go to the kitchen! You like coffee, right?”

“Uh, sure?” Jack’s response sounded like more of a question than a statement.

“Okay, great. Let’s go.”

  
  
  


-

  
  


Jack sat on the counter as he waited.

David was really nothing as Jack had expected. From everything he heard about the big three gods, David wasn’t as intimidating as the stories had led him to believe. He was just… a guy. A really tall, really pale, probably really rich guy but just a guy nonetheless. He kind of had a nerdy vibe to him too, which was endearing.

Jack swung his legs back and forth as he tried to roll up the sleeves again. 

He figured if he could keep it, he’d just fix it up and make it smaller. Then again, he did like how baggy it was and hid his figure. 

He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard a buzzing noise. He looked over and noticed the other’s phone vibrating. There was a name lighting up the screen with the picture of a smiling river nymph. 

“Hey, Dave,” he said, “your phone’s ringin’. Someone named Morris.”

That name seemed to trigger something because David automatically dropped what he was doing and snatched up his phone.

Jack furrowed his brows. “Whoa, calm down there. Who’s Morris?”

David hesitated. “Just a nymph… that I… associate with.” He gave a nervous smile and pressed the red button to hang up. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, so he’s like a boyfriend or some shit?”

David crossed his arms and leaned against the counter next to him. “I don’t know what would give you that idea.”

Jack shrugged. “I mean, considerin’ you and your siblings are known for your affairs and… and stuff.”

He probably shouldn’t have said that. He laughed nervously and looked down.

“Stupid Sarah and Les…” He heard David mumble. He cleared his throat. He spoke directly to Jack this time. “Stories get around, I guess. It’s mostly Les though.”

“Oh really?” Jack said, a small smirk on his face.

David chuckled. “Oh come on, do I look like a scoundrel to you?” He smiled down at him.

Jack pretended to think for a moment. “Yeah, actually. Like, at least 30 percent scoundrel if I’m bein’ honest.” Jack had a smug smile on his face.

David looked taken aback at first, but then he laughed. He grabbed a mug and poured coffee in it. “I guess that’s fair.” He handed the mug to Jack. Jack took it. “I guess you’ll have to let me know if my scoundrel percentage increases.”

“I’ll think about it.” Jack took a sip of his coffee. He set the cup down. “Actually, now that I think ‘bout it… you never introduced yourself. I’d say that bumps you up to 31 percent, huh?”

David set his own coffee down. “Oh come on, you know who I am! Everyone does!”

“32 percent.”

David sighed in defeat. “You’re more of a little shit than you look.”

Jack laughed. “I get that a lot.”

The god of the dead reached over and grabbed his wallet. He pulled out a small black business card. “Here. The name’s David. Also known as Hades, King of the Underworld and God of the Dead.”

Jack took the card. “Wow, you’re a fancy man, ain’t ya? It’s all laminated and everything.”

David crossed his arms with a smile. “I run a business down here. Would you expect anything less?”

Jack shrugged. “Well, guess I should introduce myself too. Only seems fair.” He reached past the jacket into his own pocket and pulled out a small card. “Here. It ain’t as fancy as yours, but I made it myself, and I’d say it came out pretty good.” He handed it to the taller god. “Jack. The mortals call me Persephone though. God of Spring.”

David took it. He raised an eyebrow and let out a snigger. “This says Francis.”

Jack felt his face flush. He reached up to grab it. “Wait, that’s an old one.”

David pulled it out of reach. “Francis? Do you go by a different name?”

Jack jumped. “Give it back!”

David had a smug smile on. “No way. This is hilarious. It’s hardly even legible.” He laughed.

“Like I said, I made it by myself! My mom said it helps build character!”

David laughed and put an arm around the shorter boy’s waist. “Heh… I think I have enough character for at least three lifetimes.” He pulled him close. “I’m keeping this.”

David looked at him. His face went a light shade of red. 

Jack smirked. “You’re a lot stronger than ya look.”

He immediately let him go as if he hadn’t even realized he was holding him. He cleared his throat again. “Oh… sorry.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment. 

Jack decided to break the silence. “So, uh… this is gonna sound weird, but I really can’t remember anything. Mind fillin’ in the gaps?”

David hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “Nothing I can really say for sure. I just found you passed out in the back of my car, but I only found you when I got home, so I figured I’d just lay you to bed in one of my guest rooms.”

Jack’s hands instinctively flew to his chest. “You didn’t… see anything, did ya?”

David seemed to know what he meant and shook his head quickly. “What? No! Of course not! Why would I- No!”

Jack sighed in relief. 

_ Good. At least, he don’t know. _

Jack spoke again. “If it helps, I think there was a this, like, blonde god. He was purple, I think. Had a stick or somethin’ with him.”

“Oh, Charlie,” David seemed to recognize the name. A dark expression crossed his face. “That’s… that’s Elmer’s kid…”

  
  
  


-

  
  
  


_ “I think he puts Aphrodite to shame _ .”

That’s what David had said. 

He should’ve kept his big mouth shut. He was so stupid! Gods…

Elmer must’ve heard him and done this as some sort of revenge. Whether it was on Jack or him, he didn’t know, but Charlie was his kid. Elmer was definitely behind this somehow.

David turned to Jack. Jack was staring up at him with confusion written all over his face. 

David laughed nervously. “Hey… so, uh, funny story actually. I may know why this happened.”

Jack didn’t respond. He just crossed his arms. 

David continued. “You see… I may or may not have said something that upset Aphrodite.”

“Which is?”

“That you put him to shame or whatever…” David mumbled.

“I couldn’t hear ya, Davey. Gonna have to speak up.”

“That you put him to shame… or whatever…” He smiled nervously.

Jack stared at him for a second. Then, he smiled. Then, he laughed. He laughed at him. 

David felt his face flush. “H-Hey! I know I may not be your type but-”

Jack placed a hand on his arm, still laughing. “You're a riot, ya know that, Dave,” he said between laughs.

“I- Huh?”

The shorter god took in a deep breath and gathered himself. “Oh man, that’s rich!” He took in a breath. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better though.”

David stuttered. “I- uh- I just-”

“You’d have to be a complete idiot to compare two gods!”

David felt his cheeks burn. “Ha ha… yeah…”

“Like, no brains at all!”

“Ha yeah… Totally. Totally.” He looked away in embarrassment. 

David felt his phone buzz again. He checked and noticed it was Les calling him this time. He cleared his throat. “Uh, excuse me. I have to take this. It’s my brother.”

Jack nodded.

David walked a few feet away and answered the phone. “I’m busy!” He whisper-shouted.

“What no ‘hello’?” Les’s voice said.

“What do you want?”

“We’re still on for brunch this morning, right?”

“Wha- No! I’m not going to your stupid brunch! I’m doing something very important right now!” He glanced back and noticed Jack had walked over to the window. He was watching Cerberus and the other dogs in the yard.

“But family brunch is mandatory,” Les said.

“I’m not going,” David responded.

“It’s mandatory! You have to go!”

“No!”

“Dave!”

“I’m busy!”

“ _ It’s mandatory! _ ”

He sighed in frustration as he heard sounds of lightning in the background. “Two siblings and you still have only child syndrome! You’re a real piece, you know that!” David shouted louder this time, causing Jack to turn. David smiled nervously.

“Okay, see you in twenty minutes,” his voice returned back to it’s normal, sweet self. He could hear the smile on his face.

David rolled his eyes and hung up.

Jack blinked. “Somethin’ tells me you gotta go.”

“Yeah… looks like I’m going to have to take you back to Olympus, god of spring.”

Jack waved a dismissive hand. “That’s fine. You go change or whatever. Do what you gotta do.”

David went back up to his room and grabbed a change of clothes for work. He threw on a comfortable black coat and found Jack back in the kitchen.

“Alright, ready to go?”

“Why do you have so many dogs?” Jack blurted out.

David looked out the window where Jack was looking. He shrugged. “They keep me company. Now, come on, I have somewhere to be soon.”

Jack followed him out. He looked up at him. “How many dogs you got?”

“Seven,” David answered simply. “I just really like dogs.”

There was a beat of silence. 

“Well?”

David looked down at Jack. “What?”

“You can’t just tell me you got that many dogs and _ not  _ tell me about ‘em!”

An excited smile grew on David’s face. No one ever really asked him about himself. Or even any of his interests. So, when he got started. He got  _ started _ .

He told Jack about their names, how he got them, their routines, literally anything that came to the top of his head.

What made it even better was that Jack seemed to be listening to him. He nodded and listened to what David actually had to say.

Before they knew it, they had made it to the garage. David pressed a button to open it.

“Whoa…” Jack stared in amazement at the garage full of cars. He looked up at David. “Gods, looks like you got one for every day of the week.”

“Yup,” David stated simply unfazed. “That sounds about right.”

“You sure you got enough?” Jack teased. 

The god of death laughed. “Would you rather walk to Olympus? Because that’s what it sounds like.” He began walking to the closest one when he heard Jack’s voice. 

“Can I drive?”

David looked down at him. The other had an excited smile on his face. He put on a serious expression. “Only I drive my cars,” he said slowly and sternly. 

The boy’s smile didn’t let up. It only widened. 

“No. No way.”

Jack tilted his head. His smile widened. 

  
  
  
  


“I’m already regretting this decision.”

David held onto his seatbelt tightly as that went at least 15 miles above the speed limit

Jack rolled his eyes. “Pssh, don’t worry,” he reassured him. “I’m a great driver. Hold on!” He hit the break as they came to a red light, and the car jerked to a stop. “There. See.” He glanced over at the other.

David gathered himself and sat up straight. He chuckled. “I’m just glad we’re immortal, so we can’t-”

“Shh! I don’t need criticism. I need directions right now, Davey.” The light turned green.

David gave him a look of confusion mixed with slight offense. “I-I’m sorry did you just shush me? You do realize I’m a king, right?”

“Well, then that should make youse the perfect person to give me directions through your kingdom.” He smirked. “Am I right, or am I right?”

David smiled. “I guess that is how it works.” He stared out the window. “Alright, so you’re going to want to turn left here.”

Jack turned the wheel quickly, and they lurched forward again.

Something was beginning to tell David that Jack wasn’t as good a driver as he said he was. “Not that fast!” David snapped.

“Sorry!” Jack tensed up. His grip tightened, and he was quiet for a moment. The god of spring looked out the window. “So this is the Underworld, huh?”

David turned and faced Jack’s profile. He could tell that although he was facing the road, his eyes wandered toward the view of the city. His features looked so much softer in the dim light. David smiled. “Yeah… it is. What do you think?”

Jack shrugged. “It’s nice. I guess I can see why ya would like it down here. I do got a question though.”

“Hm?”

“Why is it so dark? Don’t know what sunlight is down here, or what?”

David noticed Jack’s eyes glance in his direction. He looked away quickly, so Jack wouldn’t know he was staring for so long. He sat back. “Eh… I just don;t want that shitty little sun god down here. I can’t stand him really. I don't know how you all tolerate him up there.”

Jack furrowed his brows. “You mean Apollo? Never met him. I don;t even know his real name.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll probably end up crossing paths one of these days. Just… prepare yourself to be annoyed.”

“I don’t need to when I already met you.” Jack chuckled.

David just smiled. “Oh, says you.” It felt weird having this sort of banter and not getting yelled at or insulted. If he would’ve had this sort of conversation with Morris, things would’ve gone south a long time ago. 

_ Sensitive little prick. _

With Jack, it seemed so different. It was obvious he was just playing and had no ill intent behind his words. He was just fun. David wished there was more of that in his life… 

He stared out the window. “Oh, there’s a checkpoint up here to your right,” David said.

Once they made it past the checkpoint, the sky began turning a less black and more rose shade of color. The sun was barely rising over Olympus as they drove through the city. After a few more sharp turns and more playful banter, Jack finally pulled the car over.

They stopped in front of a small suburban house. It was a dark grey color with trees scattered along the side of the house. It was quite a simple house with a homely feel to it.

“Welp,” Jack said, popping the p, “this is my stop.” He turned to completely face David. “Hey, thanks for putting up with my shit. You really didn’t need some amature god, takin’ up your time.”

_ I would literally give anything for you to take up all my time. _

David felt a heat rise to his face at the sincere smile Jack gave him. “It really was nothing really.” He turned to face the smaller god. “Jack, I…”

He wasn’t exactly sure what to say. Was he supposed to tell him how he felt? He didn’t even know how he felt. So many different emotions were filling his brain. Kiss him maybe? No, no. That definitely wasn’t a good idea, especially considering he didn’t know if Jack returned the feelings or even wanted to kiss him. That wasn’t even touching on the fact that he was _ technically _ in a relationship.

Jack tilted his head. “Yeah?”

David bit his lip. He opened his mouth to speak when suddenly…

_ Slam! _

It was like something had hit the car. There was a banging on the window.

David’s first instinct was to reach his hand out and shield the young god of spring.

“Hey! Get out of this pervert’s car right now!” A girl’s voice called through the window.

Jack lowered David’s arm. “Oh, hey Kath,” he greeted.

The fiery red-haired goddess of hunting stood right in front of the car. Her expression was one of rage. Her teeth grit and hands balled in fists. 

She turned her attention to David. “And  _ you _ ! I have my eyes on you!”

David opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle, holding his hands up in defense. “Relax Katherine! I haven’t done anything!”

“A likely story, God of Death…” She narrowed her eyes. 

Jack got out of the driver’s seat. His long hair and David’s oversized Jack dragged on the ground. He just rolled his eyes. “Kath, calm down. I can handle-”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the house. “Come on! You’re a mess. Let’s get you fixed up.”

Jack followed her toward the house. They were almost to the door. 

_ Wait, he’s leaving already! Come on, Dave, think! There has to be something… _

He felt something in his coat pocket. 

“Hey, Francis!”

They stopped, and Jack whipped around. 

David laughed nervously. “Ha… made you look.”

Through the pink aura, David noticed a light blush creep up his cheeks. David let out a small laugh. He turned to leave. 

“Come on, Jack,” Katherine said. 

After a moment, Jack laughed. “Hey, Davey!”

David turned. 

Jack had a smirk. “You’re down to 20%. Bye!”

David felt his grin widen. “G-goodbye!”

Katherine pulled Jack inside. “Bye, pervert!” She slammed the door behind her. 

David was too lost in his thoughts to care. He was pretty sure he had a huge, goofy grin on his face. The kind you get when something so amazing happens to you, you just can’t believe it’s real. 

When he first saw Jack, he knew he had fallen. He just didn’t know how hard. 

Jack made him more nervous than usual but in a good way. He made him feel warm and giddy. Something he hadn’t felt since… well, in years. 

He stared back at the house before opening the door to his car. 

“Goodbye…”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed that! It came out longer than I expected! 
> 
> Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Thanks for reading!


End file.
